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Outraged Akufo-Addo rips hypocrite NDC over US-Ghana military deal

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has questioned the patriotism and sincerity of his political opponents after he was heavily criticised over the $20million Ghana-US military deal.

In an address to the nation carried by the major media houses Wednesday, he said the Defence Cooperation that spawned a major demonstration last week is not different from previous ones signed by his predecessors.

The governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) has roundly been deplored after it was revealed it has sanctioned a military deal that will give United States (US) troops unimpeded access to key strategic facilities in Ghana in exchange for $20million.

Defense by US Ambassador Robert Jackson and Defence Minister Dominic Nitiwul did little to calm the tension generated by the deal, resulting in a joint protest led by the NDC, People’s National Convention (PNC), Convention People’s Party (CPP) and All People’s Congress (APC).

But the president has directed his outrage toward his political opponents over their “defamatory comments” since the military deal was made public.

“I will never be the president that will compromise or sell the sovereignty of this country. I have stood with you – the Ghanaian people – all my adult life,” president Akufo-Addo said.

He said his government did not discontinue Ghana’s military agreement with the US because there was no evidence that the world superpower abused 1998, 2000 and 2015 deals “secretly” entered into by his predecessors.

But the threat that necessitated the agreement namely the “creeping fear in the [sub]-region had not disappeared,” he said.

President Akufo-Addo unmasked the hypocrisy of NDC members under whose government the three agreements were signed with the US without the knowledge of Ghanaians.

“It is my firm belief that the case for openness in my government has been clearly settled but we have to take issues with the front line politicians,” he charged the citizens.